WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: Greggs Rises After Lifting 2019 Guidance

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Tuesday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------InterContinental Hotels Group, up 1.3%. The hotel operator hiked its total annual dividend by 10%, despite reporting a fall in annual profit. For 2018, the company posted pretax profit of USD485.0 million, down from USD656.0 million in 2017. Revenue increased 6.4% to USD4.34 billion from USD4.08 billion. The slump in pretax profit was due to an exceptional charge of USD104.0 million for acquisition & integration costs, litigation, reorganisation costs, and expenses related to the settlement of the pension scheme. IHG reported global revenue per available room up 2.5%, boosted by a good performance in Greater China, up 6.9%. The Americas and Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa regions saw revPAR up 1.9% and 2.7%, respectively. Furthermore, the company proposed a final dividend of 78.1 US cents, which alongside the company's interim dividend of 36.3 cents took the final payout up 10% year-on-year to 114.4 cents from 104.0 cents. ----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------HSBC Holdings, down 4.4%. The Asia-focused bank reported strong growth in all of its global units, but missed profit consensus. In 2018, pretax profit widened 16% to USD19.89 billion from USD17.17 billion the year prior. This was after revenue rose 4.5% to USD53.78 billion from USD51.45 billion the year before. The reported pretax profit fell short of market expectations. Analyst consensus saw HSBC achieving pretax profit of USD20.93 billion. The bank's net interest income for 2018 came in at USD30.44 billion slightly below consensus. HSBC's net operating income of USD52.17 billion was below consensus of USD54.59 billion. In addition, Merrill Lynch downgraded HSBC to Neutral from Buy. Peer Standard Chartered, which reports its own annual results next Tuesday, was down 3.6%. ----------BHP Group, down 1.2%. The Anglo-Australian miner said interim profit and revenue both rose and debt declined, while full year copper guidance has been given a boost. For the six months ended December, pretax profit grew 4.5% on the year to USD6.80 billion as revenue rose 1.0% to USD20.74 billion. However, underlying profit came in at USD3.73 billion, missing analyst consensus of USD4.37 billion. BHP is to hold its interim dividend per share at 55.0 US cents, unchanged on the year prior. Net debt fell 36% to USD9.89 billion from USD15.41 billion the year prior. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Greggs, up 6.5%. The bakery chain reported a strong start to 2019, with sales boosted by its new vegan sausage roll, meaning it is likely to beat profit expectations for the year. For the seven weeks to February 16, Greggs' sales increased 14% year-on-year. On a like-for-like basis, company-managed shop sales rose 9.6%. This "exceptionally strong" start builds on what Greggs said was a good finish to 2018, and has been helped by "extensive" publicity around its vegan sausage roll, which was launched at the start of January. Growth eased slightly in February, Greggs did say, but so strong was early trading there is likely to be a "materially" positive impact on first half 2019 results.----------FirstGroup, up 1.5%. The transport operator said that its year-to-date reported revenue has increased 14%, with constant currency revenue, excluding its South Western Railway franchise, up 5.5%. The company's Road divisions revenue is up 1.9% year-to-date. FirstGroup said its overall trading in the period supports its unchanged outlook for the full year. In addition, rival Go-Ahead has agreed to buy a Manchester bus depot, including 163 buses, from FirstGroup for GBP11.2 million in cash. Shares in Go-Ahead were down 0.1%. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Indivior, down 5.0%. The drugmaker's shares were lower despite reporting positive results from tests of its proposed Sublocade treatment for opioid addiction. Data from the phase three trial showed Sublocade met its primary and key secondary endpoints in both dosages, which showed "clinically and statistically difference in percentage abstinence from opioid use" based on urine samples and self-reporting. Sublocade is being tested as a injection at doses of 300/300 milligrams and 300/100 milligrams. Last week, Indivior reported a doubling of 2018 profit, as expenses registered a significant fall. However, revenue was hit by a loss of market share for its Suboxone treatment.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Panthera Resources, up 27%. The gold exploration company's shares rose on the receipt of USD250,000 in funding from Galactic Gold Mines. In mid-December, following technical and legal due diligence on the Bhukia project in India, Galactic Gold Mines agreed to acquire a 10% stake in Panthera's subsidiary Indo Gold for USD1.3 million. The 10% interest will be purchased in two 5% stages. The first stage will be acquired for USD500,000 consisting of two payments. The payment just received by Panthera was the first of the two payments, with the second due before the end of March. The second 5% stake will be bought for USD750,000 before exploration at Bhukia recommences, which is expected to take place in mid to late 2019.----------Blancco Technology, up 17%. The mobile diagnostics company reiterated its confidence in meeting annual market expectations following a swing to profit in the interim. For the six months to the end of December, Blancco reported a pretax profit of GBP243,000, swinging from a loss of GBP1.5 million the year before. Revenue for the period rose by 19% to GBP14.6 million from GBP12.3 million the prior year, through growth in all the company's operations. Looking ahead, Blancco has reiterated confidence in market expectations for its full year ending June 30 and in long term growth.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Walker Greenbank, down 11%. The luxury interior furnishings company said it expects to report a slight increase in revenue for its 2019 financial year but warned core UK market remains "both challenging and uncertain". Walker Greenbank said the downward trend in its Brand product sales remain unchanged in the new financial year and it will "seek to mitigate" the impact of the "difficult trading environment" through cost savings initiatives. Total Brand sales during the period, excluding licensing, were down 4.1%, with UK Brand sales down 6.2%. International Brand sales were down 1.6% but Brand sales in the US - the firm's second largest market - increased 6.6% in the period. Walker Greenbank attributed the UK decrease on a "weak" consumer environment leading to a "further deterioration" in sales during the key autumn selling season.----------